She is a woman of a certain age. A retired wildlife biologist who wears Crocs when weather permits, and muck boots the rest of the time. She’s living her dream, a farm filled with rescue horses and dogs. She’s one of us. I think she’s taken every course I teach, and I’ve been to her … Read more
I can’t remember my age when I first saw Dogs Playing Poker, the famous painting by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge. It portrays dogs smoking cigars and playing cards. I didn’t see the original, of course, but a copy painted on velvet. It still offended my little girl’s sensibilities. I didn’t think dogs should smoke. Or maybe … Read more
In fifth grade, they pulled us out of class for hearing tests. They clamped skinny black headphones on us and told us to raise our hands when we heard sounds. Then I sat there waiting to hear for a long time. Long enough that I knew I wasn’t hearing. And I wasn’t the kid who … Read more
My Grandfather Horse was so good with latches he could have broken out of Alcatraz and made it back to Colorado, but he wasn’t special. We all brag about how intelligent our horses are when they react to the sound of our car driving up the driveway. They’re geniuses when they know it’s dinnertime, or … Read more
I had a friend who used to write me little vignettes about the antics of her and her horse at their self-care boarding barn. I always looked forward to each installation. Usually, they were hen-cackling funny, but this one took a bittersweet turn: “This morning at the stables, someone asked my opinion. About 20 seconds … Read more